Shaken (14 page)

“Play nice, V.” Zip straightened next to him, and her tone held a warning all of its own. Deciding retreat was the better part of valor, he gave Zip another squeeze.

“Soup and sandwich or a
meal
meal?” He exited the booth and stood.

“Soup and sandwich sounds fabulous. And maybe a cinnamon cappuccino?” Zip’s eyes turned whiskey-warm when she turned her attention back to him.

“Anything you want.” He meant it. The attorney shrugged off her coat and set her briefcase into the booth. “Wine?”

“Actually, I’ll have what Zip’s having, if you don’t mind.” The frost in her tone thawed, but only a fraction. Every hair on Tony’s body stood up at the assessment in her gaze. Without saying a word, he read the warning in her eyes, and he nodded.

She wanted to look after Zip, so they were on the same page. “Don’t let her stay late,” he said. “I’ll call a cab. She needs to get some sleep.”

Preferring to stay, but knowing he had to get his ass to work, he headed to the bar and caught Tiffany along the way to give her the food and cappuccino orders. Allowing a glance over at the corner booth, he could only wonder what the blonde was saying. Whatever it was, Zip didn’t seem to like it. A customer sat down, and Tony headed over to fill his order. His nerves stretched, waiting to hear their familiar laughter. The last thing he needed was to be a point of contention between friends, but—he checked the corner booth again—Zip and he were together, and the blonde better get used to it.

“Oh, my God, V, stop it.” Zip scowled. “You were all for me going after him last week.”

“Getting laid and falling in love are two entirely different things.” Veronica didn’t back off from the anger surging through Zip like a tidal wave. “Honey—you barely know the guy.”

“So?” It didn’t help to hear all her fears echoed out loud. “Everything I know about him, I like, and we’re getting to know each other.”

“Enough that he’s giving you orders and making decisions for you?” Skepticism rippled across the surface of the words, but it was the worry beneath them that eased Zip’s temper.

“Hey, ladies.” Lucy appeared at the edge of the table, and Zip sighed before turning to face their friend’s hesitant expression. After she stripped off her coat and hung it with the others, Lucy slid into the seat next to Zip. Tiffany appeared with the cappuccinos and a basket of bread.

Shifting uncomfortably beneath Lucy’s assessing gaze, Zip fought to give Tiffany a quick smile even if it didn’t match her mood.

“I’ll have coffee, too,” Lucy murmured. “Just coffee, not cappuccino.”

“Sure thing, Doc. Want anything to eat?” The warmth Tiffany offered up only emphasized the coolness at their usually bubbly table.

“Garlic and basil bruschetta?”

Zip sipped her cappuccino while Tiffany finished taking Lucy’s order, but, the moment the waitress left, Zip felt the weight of both women’s stares.

“Someone want to fill me in?” Lucy’s quiet question hit the center of the table like a hot potato no one wanted to pick up.

“Zip’s falling for the bartender.” But, of course, Veronica had never been averse to applying her particular brand of harsh bluntness.

“Oh, she fell for him a long time ago.” The blasé acceptance jerked through Zip and Veronica, and seeing her own shock mirrored on V’s face might have been comical any other time.

“What?” Both women turned to stare at the doc, and Lucy chuckled.

“Really? You’ve never missed a single Friday night, even when the rest of us couldn’t make it. You always sit where you can see him—and you’re always watching him. After the one night you got a chance to sit and talk to him—you didn’t shut up about it for three weeks. Maybe you went out with him for the first time last Friday, babe. But you’ve been into him for a lot longer.”

Surprise cramped her insides, and Zip stared over at the bar. Tony was speaking with a couple of customers but glanced up to give her a quick, heart-clenching smile, as if he’d known she watched him.

“Wow, you really do have it bad.” Veronica sighed.

“Leave her alone, V,” Lucy chided, but Zip focused on her cappuccino. Indecision turned her stomach to acid.

“These things don’t always work out….” Veronica said.

“And sometimes they do.” Lucy’s voice took on an edge that jerked Zip out of her private little pity party. “You’re pissed because you just dumped a douche, but getting rid of a douche doesn’t give you an excuse to be one.”

A second shock ripped through Zip, and she wasn’t alone. Veronica gaped at Lucy as well. The doctor had always been the quiet one, the one most likely to go with the flow. Pain tightened the corners of Veronica’s eyes, and she snapped her mouth shut. Silence stretched between the three, painful and taut.

She wished Jem or Kaley were there—either woman would have made a crack, lightened the mood, and gotten them talking. As it was, Lucy and Veronica’s stare-off seemed to go on and on.

About the time Zip was ready to give up and try to intercede, Veronica sighed. “You’re right.”

“I know I am, but thank you for saying so.” And the tense bubble popped with a hint of jagged amusement. “So”—Lucy transferred her attention from Veronica to Zip—“You actually asked him out?”

“Yes, and we’ve spent nearly every night together since.” Yes, it counted as over-sharing. No, she didn’t care. Lucy’s eyes danced with questions, but Zip stole a quick peek at Veronica. The attorney’s attention was fixed on her cappuccino. “And, yeah, I am scared that we’re going too fast.”

“Sweetie, I’m a bitch, and we both know that. Do not let me rain on your sex parade.” Veronica lifted her cup. “But I will drink to you finding the real goods—’cause you do seem happy.”

“Really?” Zip wanted to gush, and it took everything she had not to look at the bar because Veronica at least made the attempt for her sake.

“Really.” They clinked coffee cups together.

“So, you do realize we want all the details right?” Lucy wrapped an arm around her, and all three burst out laughing. Huddling together, they ate, and Zip told them everything—from their time at the diner, to going home together, to every magical moment she’d spent with Tony. Veronica managed another smile, but even that faded when Zip brought up the custody suit.

“That’s a crap situation his ex left him in.” Veronica nudged her finished bowl away; her assessing gaze moved past Lucy toward the bar. “Who’s representing him?”

“A friend of his, and it seems to be going well.” At least she hoped so—the night before, she’d heard the forlorn note in his voice. The loneliness and the worry.

“How do you feel about the step-mommy challenge?” Lucy eyed her curiously. “I mean, it’s hard enough to be in a relationship, and you guys are just getting started. Kids take a lot of effort and energy. If he wins his case….”

“Then he gets his little girl. Guys, you should see the way he smiles when he talks about her. He loves her so much.” It made her ovaries hurt. “I hope she likes me, but—that’s not about me.”

“Of course it is,” the two women chorused.

But Lucy wasn’t finished. “You just have to be prepared for it changing some things. Like when he has her, he probably won’t want to sleep over at your place. You’d probably have to go to him.”

“Late nights will be out with a little kid, too,” Veronica mused. “Not that you’re a party animal.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Zip, sweetie, I want what’s best for you and maybe he is it. If he needs more legal help, let me know. I’ll throw in what I can. I’ve got some good connections in Family Court.” Considering her specialty happened to be divorce and family law, that didn’t surprise Zip. The offer, however, did.

“Really?” If Zip’s skepticism bothered Veronica, she didn’t let it show.

“Really. You like him. You’re smiling. I’m not so bitten in the ass that I can’t see you’re happy. So, if I can help, I will.” The concession would not go overlooked.

Edging around the booth, Zip gave her a fast hug and stayed there, one arm slung around Veronica's shoulders. “I’m scared. I admit it. I’m scared that we’re going too fast and we’re going to miss things that might get us later, but….”

“You’re having fun?” Lucy interrupted with a happy smile.

“Oh, my God, so much fun. It’s crazy, impulsive, and I get giddy just being in the same room with him.” Gushing about Tony felt like the best thing ever.

“You know, V, it occurs to me little Miss Follow-All-The-Rules is turning into quite the slut.” Lucy drained her coffee.

“Yeah.” Veronica’s voice softened, and she gave Zip a squeeze. “But she’s our slut.”

And the laughter erupted again. Zip swiped away a couple of tears. Her cheeks ached from the grinning. Across the room, Tony’s warm gaze sought hers. He shook up her whole world, but she was so not complaining.

At nine, Tony put Zip in the cab after a very long, thorough kiss. He wanted to frown at her for staying so late—but he’d seen the tension between the women when Veronica arrived. Staying out of it proved tough, since he was a fixer. Fixing things came naturally to him, but he also had siblings and sisters. Best lesson he ever learned had been to stay out of his sisters’ fights.

Girls got mean when guys tried to intervene.

Booming business at the bar kept him too busy the rest of the evening, but Zip called once she arrived at home and told him goodnight. He’d already started counting down the hours until Saturday night.

Chapter Eleven

Sunday

“You’ve been quiet this afternoon.” Zip sat crossed-legged on the floor, an array of receipts spread out around her. Tony relaxed on the sofa, legs propped on the coffee table and his laptop open. He’d been working on something for the better part of an hour. The companionable silence left her both warmed and uneasy. It was hard to explain—even to herself.

“Can I ask you a question?” He peered over the edge of the screen, his eyebrows crinkling together.

“Sure.” She added another receipt to the no-this-doesn’t-count pile. Mrs. Thomason had been her first client at the firm, but the woman kept every single receipt throughout the year. A private interior decorator, she considered her clients to be both personal friends and investments. She wouldn’t know bookkeeping if it bit her in the ass, but she kept everything.

Zip sighed at the receipt from the sex toy store. There were just some things she didn’t need to know about the woman. “What’s up?” she asked when Tony remained silent.

“When do you take a risk?”

“Define risk.” She retrieved her iced green tea from the coffee table and took a long drink. The last five days, sleep hadn’t been at the top of her priority list. Working all day and then being up with Tony most of the night left her body a puddle of pleasure and exhaustion. But it had all been so worth the need for extra caffeine.

Tony set the laptop aside and dropped his feet to the floor with a thump. Sitting forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. “Hypothetically speaking, you have a solid business plan, as solid as seven years of education and three years of practical experience can make it. You know the market, you know the customer base, and you know the location. You also understand that, in the current economic climate, that’s only about fifty percent of the battle. So, you want a solid capital investment and you project a year to maximize the return so the investment is paying itself forward. You accept that your initial investment will amortize over five years and that, by year six, you will be able to begin paying dividends to yourself on that investment.”

“Okay, I’m with you.” Without real numbers, she could only follow the line of logic, but she heard sound reasoning in every statement.

“Is that a good risk?”

Mirroring his posture, Zip closed the portfolio she’d been reviewing and studied his intent expression. “Okay, still speaking hypothetically, have you emphasized your strengths over your weaknesses and your opportunities over your threats?”

“As much as I am able. Retail and service industries offer a peculiar set of challenges from branding, to service capabilities, to earning customer loyalty. The first year has to not only include set up and opening costs, but also at least six months of building name recognition.”

“What threats are specific to your operation?”

“More established locations. The nichepreneur strategy, because targeting a specific demographic may limit other opportunities, but provide a greater return in the long run. Local competition, already familiar names, and traffic patterns.”

“Are you married to the location?” Strategic implementation required a four-pronged approach to start up.

“Actually, no, but it’s a prime piece of real estate that once hosted the Mardi Gras.” He counted off on his fingers. “It doesn’t have any direct competition on the immediate block, but both cross streets offer niche entertainment spots including a techno club, so spillover is available without loss of direct market share. The intent is to focus on local clientele, provide them with an atmosphere that’s both sexy and cozy, where single women can enjoy a night out without sleazy guys, but hooking up is an option.”

Zip couldn’t help but smile at the energy snapping in his blue eyes and animation filling his expression. His fingers tapped together lightly.

“Is the goal to create a members-only club experience, where possibilities happen?” She adored the happiness in him and the excitement that roiled in the air around them.

“Something like that. One of the best parts of Coveted is the regulars. I’ve worked at a few bars over the years, both during and after college and grad school. The best bars have customers who come in every day or every week; you can set your watch by them. Look at you and your girls…. Why do you come to Coveted every Friday?”

She considered her answer, propping her arms on the table and leaning forward. Her gaze skated over his features. His warm, sensual mouth, his sexy bedroom eyes, and his strong, broad shoulders. Tony was damn near the perfect man physically; he was a fabulous lover, and she’d lost count of her orgasms. Just talking to him made her toes curl, but…engaging his intelligence? The man was smart. Really smart, and his mind turned her on—but the respect he showed her and her intelligence—talk about icing on a very sexy cake.